Paul Daley has never been one to hold his tongue and proved that today, as he truly went off on a selection of subjects in true Daley style.

Daley, who fights on February 28th at the M.E.N arena for UK organization BAMMA, was a guest on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and he spoke at length about current Strikefoce Welterweight Champion and potential future opponent, Nick Diaz. When discussing Diaz’s ability to takedown his opponents, Daley was not impressed with his skills.

“”Most of his takedowns come from the clinch or he’s dropping guys with bodyshots, but that ain’t gonna happen with me. Yeah he’s fast but he’s not explosive like me when it comes to MMA. He’s got great conditioning, yeah, but what happens when I’m moving three or four times as fast as anybody he’s fought in the past? How’s he going to deal with that?” said Daley.

Daley also had some harsh words, for unbeaten Strikeforce prospect, Tyron Woodley who is 9-0 in his career and is another fighter on course for a shot at Diaz’s title.

“Even though he’s 9-0, what’s this guy got to offer me?” said Daley.

“He ain’t Josh Koscheck. He ain’t Jake Shields. He’s not on that level and he’s never fought anybody of my level, either. I think it’s crazy they would’ve put that fight together because I would’ve messed him up really bad.”

The Phenom has arguably his biggest test ever in his upcoming fight against UFC Middleweight Champion and arguably the best pound for pound fighter, in the world Anderson Silva. However, if there’s a fighter that can defeat Anderson, it is Belfort. Belfort has already held the UFC Heavyweight title and UFC Lightheavyweight title and now has the chance to truly cement his legacy in the sport by becoming the middleweight champion.

Since this is one of the most epic MMA cards that I’ve ever covered since creating the website, I couldn’t have any old video be part of this version of fighter of the week. It needed to be something that really matched the anticipation of this card. I think I found it…

Anybody that thinks that MMA fighters train themselves, walk into a cage and just “win”, either know nothing about the sport or are complete fools. Coaches don’t get the praise they deserve, so here at MMA UK, we thought we’d give you five awesome striking coaches. Obviously, we’re gonna miss out on some really good ones so don’t think of it as definitive list of the best, it’s more of a list of striking coaches that we like here on the site.

Gil Martinez – Team Xtreme Couture

AMATEUR MMA TEAM COACH:
Gil currently trains and works with our amateur team – Advanced classes.

Remember Gray Maynard the wrestler, the guy who a lot of fans said “Laid and Prayed” his way to decision victories. Well, I suppose training with Gil has stopped that idea from even being a thought in fans minds after his performance at UFC 125. Ask Maynard and any of other guys that Martinez coaches, who got has gotten their boxing to the level it is now and they’ll give Martinez full credit.

Javier Mendez – American Kickboxing Academy

One of the many striking coaches at AKA, Javier was a savage fighter in his own right and now he’s passing on his expertise to the likes of UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez. Mendez isn’t just a striking coach though, he’s also one of the head coaches of AKA and in an interview with Dave Camarillo, that we did last year, Mendez is a “true master”.

Richard Perez – Cesar Gracie’s

The boxing style of Nick and Nate Diaz might be slightly awkward, but it’s effective so how can you knock it? Nick’s boxing has looked incredible recently, especially since he’s fought someone of the striking pedigree of KJ Noons and is looking at a potential boxing fight in 2011. Perez is the man behind the Diaz’s brothers success when it comes to their striking.

Duke Roufus – Roufus Martial Arts Academy

Accomplishments

KF, International Kickboxing Federation World Super Heavyweight Champion (1998): Roufus won his IKF Title on December 4th, 1998 in Milwaukee Wisconsin, USA over Hiriwa TeRangi of New Zealand unanimous decision. Roufus defended his IKF title once with a first round KO over Grant Barker of Sydney Australia on March 19, 1999 in Milwaukee, WI USA.

When I spoke to Duke Roufus at the start of the year and asked him what his predictions for the new year would be, his response was “2011 will be the year of the strikers” and he might be right, judging by the way that 2010 ended with Roufus protege, Anthony Pettis delivering arguably the best moment in MMA history with “that kick”.

Pettis will be the first to admit that his explosive and unpredictable Tae-Kwon-Do styled striking is down to the tutoring of Roufus who has also coached the likes of Pat Barry and Alan Belcher. Roufus might have gathered some of the best strikers in the sport. Watch out for him and his crew.

Trevor Wittman – Grudge Training Centre

Behind the humble and zen like attitude to life, gentle demeanor and almost legendary smile is a man who coaches some of the most savage men in MMA. From the likes of Rashad Evans, Shane Carwin, Nate Marquardt and Duane Ludwig, Wittman is known for putting all of his fighters through their paces and making sure they’re all ready to go when it comes to cage and you can expect Wittman’s fighters to be fully prepared for a striking war.

Many may say that Kevin Randleman was the true test for Roger Gracie in his debut for Strikeforce, but Randleman was already on a two fight loss and is on the downside of his career. Trevor Prangley is a completely different animal than Randleman. Prangley has all the skills and experience needed for a decent MMA fighter, but if Roger gets it to the floor, then Prangley will be in Gracie’s world, a place where he certainly doesn’t want to be. The key to Prangley winning this fight is keeping the fight standing, as one can assume that Rogers stand up isn’t as good as his ground game. However, if Prangley cannot stop Gracie’s takedown, then Prangley will definitely be in trouble. I think Roger wins via Unanimous Decision

Herschel Walker Vs Scott Carson

I sense a Bobby Lashley – Chad Griggs situation here…

Ronaldo Souza Vs Robbie Lawler

This is a classic striker vs grappler fight. Lawler is coming off a fantastic knockout of Matt Lindland and now he has the chance to get the title from Jacare Souza. No offence to Lawler, but I feel as if Souza is on another level to him. His striking isn’t fantastic, but his defence is good enough to stay away from the knockout punches that Lawler is known for throwing. Much like the Roger Gracie- Trevor Prangley bout, the key to this fight is the takedowns, and I certainly feel that Jacare will be able to takedown Lawler and submit him in the championship rounds.

Nick Diaz Vs Evangelista Santos

This fight has the potential to be an absolute war, with both fighters known for throwing caution to the wind and trying to finish their fights. Santos is a beast of a fighter, who throws wild strikes and never really backs down, but Diaz is clearly fighting in his prime at the moment. He’s looked fantastic in all his bouts, has great boxing and fantastic Jiu Jitsu. I believe that Dia is too much of a well rounded fighter, to be defeated unless he leaves his chin out there, but something tells me that he’ll take his time and strike when he feels smartest.